loveFL
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2006
- Messages
- 283
We just returned from the Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Beach Club Villas.
The VWL:
We booked a dedicated two-bedroom villa, with DVC. Checked-in at 2PM, the villa was ready at 3PM. We were all the way at the end of the fifth floor. We found it to be a very long walk to this room, and weve had rooms almost this far on our other stays. It just seemed like the hallway just keep going on! Our view was of a service area, and the entrance road. Not great at all. I was a little disappointed in it, and asked if another villa was available. Front desk said that was all they had. The villa itself was in good condition. No real wear marks. The beds were very comfortable (the king in the master, and two queens in the second bedroom). The ceiling in the second bedroom was altered due to the roofline, so the one headboard was a lot shorter than the other, and that bed did not have lights above it.
We used the quiet pool a few times. I really liked that it usually was quiet. The water was a little chilly, Im guessing under 80 degrees.
The only restaurant we tried was Roaring Forks. During our stay, we had chicken fingers and fries, the roast beef & blue sandwich, the turkey and brie sandwich, and the ham & cheddar sandwich. I really liked the roast beef & blue. It was made to order, which the others werent.
Overall, we felt, especially on this trip, the villas were lacking the Disney magic. We have stayed here before, and liked it well enough to return. But, I felt the villas are out of the way, and just lack the feel of the lodge. At the lodge, there were renovations going on in the north wing and north lobby area of the fifth floor. Went up to the sixth floor the new carpet and hallway designs look very nice, but didnt get a chance to see the new guestrooms.
The BCV:
We booked a two-bedroom dedicated with two queens for our first stay at the Beach Club Villas. We have stayed at the Beach Club and loved it, so we decided to give the villas a try this time. We are members at the BoardWalk Villas, so I was anxious to see how the other EPCOT resort compared. We checked-in at 11:30AM, and was told that the room was ready. Asked where it was, and found out that it would be at the very end of the hall on the third floor. Then asked if anything else was available, and there was. So we were switched, then it ended up the room was assigned to somebody else in just a few seconds. The other option was the room across the hall from where we were supposed to be, which wasnt going to make any difference. So we took what we were originally assigned. The villa was very worn. All the wood furniture was scratched and beat up. The dining room bench was falling apart. Stained carpets and sofa, no lock on 2nd BR & bath doors, etc. View was of the parking lot area (which we found this self parking area very close to the unit, so I guess it was a plus), canal, and a glimpse of the pool. We were a little disappointed in the condition of the villa, and hope that it was the exception rather than the norm. It is sad that somebody actually disrespected the unit so much as to trash it Id hate to see what it looked like right after they checked out! The beds and pillows were also very uncomfortable. We ended up not using the second queen in the second bedroom because the sleeper was more comfortable, actually the most comfortable bed in the unit!
The Dunes Cove Pool also looked to be in poor condition. Once in the pool, we noticed cracked tiles, and even a section where they went over them with concrete. It is really time for a major overhaul of this pool. StormAlong Bay was great as usual, although it was closed Wednesday night due to unexpected maintenance. We went in it Thursday and enjoyed it, it looked like they added more sand.
We liked the Beach Club Marketplace, which is new since our last stay at the Beach Club. I enjoyed the sandwiches, especially the roast beef & brie. We also ate at Beaches and Cream, which I loved! We went at 7:30PM one night for dinner, ended up waiting 15 minutes for four seats at the bar. I really enjoyed my double cheeseburger and onion rings!
Even with the room quality issues (yes we did let them know), I still loved the resort. Although I have never stayed at the Yacht, we have stayed at the Beach and have always had great experiences. I would really love to try the Yacht on our next trip, though. As far as DVC resorts go, well be back to our home at the BWV next time.
Any questions feel free to ask!
The VWL:
We booked a dedicated two-bedroom villa, with DVC. Checked-in at 2PM, the villa was ready at 3PM. We were all the way at the end of the fifth floor. We found it to be a very long walk to this room, and weve had rooms almost this far on our other stays. It just seemed like the hallway just keep going on! Our view was of a service area, and the entrance road. Not great at all. I was a little disappointed in it, and asked if another villa was available. Front desk said that was all they had. The villa itself was in good condition. No real wear marks. The beds were very comfortable (the king in the master, and two queens in the second bedroom). The ceiling in the second bedroom was altered due to the roofline, so the one headboard was a lot shorter than the other, and that bed did not have lights above it.
We used the quiet pool a few times. I really liked that it usually was quiet. The water was a little chilly, Im guessing under 80 degrees.
The only restaurant we tried was Roaring Forks. During our stay, we had chicken fingers and fries, the roast beef & blue sandwich, the turkey and brie sandwich, and the ham & cheddar sandwich. I really liked the roast beef & blue. It was made to order, which the others werent.
Overall, we felt, especially on this trip, the villas were lacking the Disney magic. We have stayed here before, and liked it well enough to return. But, I felt the villas are out of the way, and just lack the feel of the lodge. At the lodge, there were renovations going on in the north wing and north lobby area of the fifth floor. Went up to the sixth floor the new carpet and hallway designs look very nice, but didnt get a chance to see the new guestrooms.
The BCV:
We booked a two-bedroom dedicated with two queens for our first stay at the Beach Club Villas. We have stayed at the Beach Club and loved it, so we decided to give the villas a try this time. We are members at the BoardWalk Villas, so I was anxious to see how the other EPCOT resort compared. We checked-in at 11:30AM, and was told that the room was ready. Asked where it was, and found out that it would be at the very end of the hall on the third floor. Then asked if anything else was available, and there was. So we were switched, then it ended up the room was assigned to somebody else in just a few seconds. The other option was the room across the hall from where we were supposed to be, which wasnt going to make any difference. So we took what we were originally assigned. The villa was very worn. All the wood furniture was scratched and beat up. The dining room bench was falling apart. Stained carpets and sofa, no lock on 2nd BR & bath doors, etc. View was of the parking lot area (which we found this self parking area very close to the unit, so I guess it was a plus), canal, and a glimpse of the pool. We were a little disappointed in the condition of the villa, and hope that it was the exception rather than the norm. It is sad that somebody actually disrespected the unit so much as to trash it Id hate to see what it looked like right after they checked out! The beds and pillows were also very uncomfortable. We ended up not using the second queen in the second bedroom because the sleeper was more comfortable, actually the most comfortable bed in the unit!
The Dunes Cove Pool also looked to be in poor condition. Once in the pool, we noticed cracked tiles, and even a section where they went over them with concrete. It is really time for a major overhaul of this pool. StormAlong Bay was great as usual, although it was closed Wednesday night due to unexpected maintenance. We went in it Thursday and enjoyed it, it looked like they added more sand.
We liked the Beach Club Marketplace, which is new since our last stay at the Beach Club. I enjoyed the sandwiches, especially the roast beef & brie. We also ate at Beaches and Cream, which I loved! We went at 7:30PM one night for dinner, ended up waiting 15 minutes for four seats at the bar. I really enjoyed my double cheeseburger and onion rings!
Even with the room quality issues (yes we did let them know), I still loved the resort. Although I have never stayed at the Yacht, we have stayed at the Beach and have always had great experiences. I would really love to try the Yacht on our next trip, though. As far as DVC resorts go, well be back to our home at the BWV next time.
Any questions feel free to ask!
